Depends on the type of ride. If I'm on a fast group ride (usually 45-50 miles), I'll take a gel and maybe some GU chomps. I'll take in most of it. If I'm riding solo, less than 40 miles, no food. 40-50 miles, a gel or honey stinger. 50-75 miles, a gel and a honey stinger. I don't really ride more than 75 miles very often.

Wow, seems like I eat a lot more than a lot of you guys (from the first page at least), I usually take a couple of muesli bars and an apple if I'm going more than twenty miles. I normally only eat one bar and the apple but I'm trying to push my average up at the moment so I like to keep stocked.

As I mentioned earlier, for rides over 2 hours, aim for 200-300 calories per hour.


On rides less than 2 hours, if you're eating normally during the day, you shouldn't need any extra calories. It is a good idea, however, to bring those muesli bars with you, just in case.

Always have 2 gel packs in the seat bag and 2 water bottles in the cages.

I almost always bring a snack, there is no rule for me other than, eat before I'm hungry and drink before I'm thirsty. I have done 30 miles/2 hours in the hills of New Hampshire without eating.
Pirk

I always pre-ride snack a Honey Stinger waffle about 15 mins. prior to taking off on a 20-25 miler. If I do long rides like a 40 miler + then I take an additional one. I am prone to being or having symptoms like hypoglycemia or low blood sugar if I over exert without intake of foods. Now I am not diabetic by any means but if I don't get something in my body I start getting anxious and the shakes like a crackhead for a fix. You throw one thing like a milkyway my way and I am a-okay.

So in effect I never know when it may hit but usually if I pre-load I am okay.

So my routine is to pre-load on small routes but take an additional on longer routes. If I am riding a sponsored ride they have rest stops always that have snacks so I just pre-load only.

Always carry a gel and glucose tabs in my bag. Sometimes my short rides end up longer than I plan.

Pretty much everyone experiences that. It's called bonking.

Hence ... 200-300 calories per hour on rides over 2 hours.

Mine is a little more than just exerting all the time. I can also get this for no known reason even with intake. It is rare but it does happen. I understand bonking and hitting the wall on rides which has or hardly synonymous with bonking in terms of nutrients. I also get severe headaches from lack of intake too that can last well over a day even after eating. I would not do too good on starvation diets:)
for sure!

45 minutes and I need something to eat. if the whole ride is 45 to 75 minutes, then I'm fine. if the walfway point is beyond 45 minutes then I need something at 45 min. when I push to 60 to 90 min for the 1/2 way point, I regret it.

so for me, it's time not miles

also important is did you start on an empty stomach or did you nutrify? I know some guys on this forum will do their morning commute on an empty stomach, but then they eat when they get to work so they are fine.

If a lot of you guys prefer gels and that type of easy to eat on the go food, how do you get up to 200-300 calories in an hour? Those gels have 100 calories max. I think clif bars are more efficient and cheaper, though you need to wash them down with water after taking a bite.

i ride with a bigger girl who has a rack on her bike that contains a bag with lots of goodies. she's like my richie porte--always there with a snack or to provide me with a bit of a draft.

I try to eat something every 1.25 hours on longer rides. I've found that works best for me. Of course, if I get hungry before that time, I will take in some more food.

Regardless of ride length, I always bring some sort of food, but will rarely eat anything if I know the ride will be sub 2 - 2.5 hours.

My new preferred snack is a jelly sandwich made with french toast waffles.

Simple, quick to make, and not an issue for me on the bike.

Make your favorite french toast batter (or freedom toast if you prefer), soak your favorite hearty bread, and cook in your favorite waffle iron.

I cool the bread on a wire rack. When cooled, I cut each slice of bread into quarters and then fill with my favorite jelly(ies). Each piece of bread will yield two mini-wiches.

My repeated use of the word favorite should indicate how much I like these.

I've tried peanut butter as well as nutella, but I think the jelly is better as it seems to keep the bread moister and is therefore easier to eat on the bike.

Yesterday's ride was 4.5 hours with about 6K feet of climbing. For food, I took a banana and four of these sandwiches (1 PB, 2 grape jelly, 1 blackberry jelly); I ate the banana and 3 mini-wiches. For drink, I took in 2.5 bottles of water and 2 bottles of emergen-c drink mix.

I'm still kind of newb to serious cycling and only up to 30 mile rides but I've never brought a snack and never felt like I wanted to eat on a ride. I generally ride in the morning on an empty stomach. Just a cup of black coffee before I ride and water on the ride. I was into intermittent fasting for a while so I am used to going 18 hours without any food while doing different kinds of activity (biking, hiking, swimming, weights).

Never been over 2 hours or 26 miles so no need yet....

<2 hrs: No food on the bike. (plenty of water)

>2hrs: 100-300 calories on the bike per hour. The longer your ride, the more important it is what you took in 1-2 hours ago. So that means while <2hr rides don't need any extra calories on-ride, for these longer rides, if you don't take calories in your first 2 hrs, you'll probably pay for it at hour 4+, so I start taking in calories in hour one on longer rides.

I use maltodextrin, bought in bulk, in my water bottles.

You can also use gels (take more than one if you need), or even food, but if you want to keep rolling and not stop, liquid nutrition rules.

In the sense that you have to stop to eat or in the sense that you have to stop because you ate? I'm confused. I eat real food on many of my rides and don't stop. I typically only stop to refill the bottles or empty my bottle.

Pretty much my rule of thumb

I carry food on every ride. If I don't need it, I save it for next time. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, there are no stores, so one has to be prepared.

This area also has lots of serious climbs. Bonking in terrain like I ride is not my idea of fun.

I prefer to stay fueled up!

I notice that at around 2 hours I start to need something. Clif shots, bars, bananas, or my peanut-butter and nutela on wheat sandwich.

I guess it depends what you eat. (What do you eat?)

If you have to unwrap a solid, you'll be fiddling with it a bit - no such task when it's in your water bottle. The caveat though is that you can carry alot more solid calories than you can liquid calories. I haven't done a dbl century, but I'd probably go solids for something like that since you're def gonna stop en route.

For my 3 hr rides, I prefer to minimize all stoppage, so liquid calories is great.

Typical foods include bananas, fig newtons, homemade power bars, and/or the mini-wiches I described above.

Anything I make is wrapped in aluminum foil. I will also re-package the fig newtons into foil pouches as well. The way I wrap the food makes it slightly more difficult to eat than a banana, but certainly not to the point of needing to stop or really even slow down for that matter. Opening these with one hand is very much doable. About the only time I wouldn't attempt to open one of these pouches is whilst descending any moderate grade.

If i'm riding over 2 hours i'll bring food, and ill try to eat about 200 calories an hour. It's simple math, if i burn 720-900 kjs an hour (so 792-990 calories an hour), i can go through my energy stores pretty quickly. Also if you're out burning 3000+ calories in a ride, what's 600 calories of food so that you don't need to come home and nom on everything insight, or go through bonking/getting overly exhausted for a simple z2 ride.

cliff bars and hammer bars are my favorite btw

We have an established protocol for this. See rule #91 . You are all to fat anyways.
http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

The gel folk also tend to use sports drink. Sports drinks can run 100 calories per hour too, depending on concentration of mix etc. So between the two, they can consume approx. 200 calories per hour.

I'll also mention that 200-300 calories per hour depends on a lot of things like hills, wind, etc. but also depends on fitness. The fitter you are, the less you may need to consume.

Anything over 20 miles I bring GU. You never know when you'll bonk.

Yes! Same here, bring it and its there in case I need it. If I am going over 2 hours, I will start to eat at 1.5 hours, and continue through ride. When doing intervals, and shorter rides under 2 hours, again, I bring it in case but normally do not eat. Best way is see what your body likes, and bring more food then yuo think you would need. Good luck!
Dave

At a min I'll take a gu on anything over 20 miles. Most rides over 30 I'll take a couple gus and a bar. Just water for fluids so far.